Top 20 Best Detective Movies: Mysteries, Manhunts, and Twisted Investigations backdrop

Top 20 Best Detective Movies: Mysteries, Manhunts, and Twisted Investigations

Published: Mar 8, 2026

This collection features the best detective movies worth watching for fans of mysteries, investigations, and tense storytelling. It brings together films about murders, disappearances, serial killers, and intricate cases where every detail matters. The selection spans different styles, vibes, and approaches to the detective genre: some films, such as "Knives Out" and "Gosford Park," stand out with a lighter, wittier, and at times even comedic atmosphere, while "Se7en," "Prisoners," and "Zodiac" lean toward a darker, more intense crime procedural tone. At the same time, some entries work as complex psychological puzzles — especially "Shutter Island" and "The Body".

Murder on the Orient Express

20. Murder on the Orient Express

Mystery Drama Crime
6.5

2017 · 1h 54min

United States

Director: Kenneth Branagh

During an urgent journey aboard the Orient Express, the famous detective Hercule Poirot becomes involved in the mysterious murder of one of the passengers. The investigation is complicated by the fact that almost everyone on the train has a motive for the crime.


Gone Baby Gone

19. Gone Baby Gone

Crime Drama Mystery
7.6

2007 · 1h 53min

United States

Director: Ben Affleck

Police unsuccessfully try to find a four-year-old girl who has gone missing. A frustrated aunt turns to two private detectives, who reluctantly get pulled into a much bigger tangle of lies, drugs, and corruption.


Identity

18. Identity

Mystery Thriller
7.3

2003 · 1h 30min

United States

Director: James Mangold

During a fierce storm, ten strangers end up in a small motel in Nevada. After someone starts killing them one by one, they realize this meeting wasn’t a coincidence.


The Body

17. The Body

Thriller Mystery
7.6

2012 · 1h 47min

Spain

Director: Oriol Paulo

A frightened night watchman, who seems to have seen something terrifying, runs into the road in a panic and is hit by a car. Soon, the police discover that the body of a woman has mysteriously disappeared from the morgue where he worked.


Sherlock Holmes

16. Sherlock Holmes

Action Adventure Crime Mystery
7.5

2009 · 2h 9min

United States, Germany

Director: Guy Ritchie

After a series of ritual murders, the legendary detective Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson track down Lord Blackwood. The criminal is captured and later executed, but the case does not end there, and the mystery is only beginning to gain momentum.


The Invisible Guest

15. The Invisible Guest

Drama Mystery Thriller
8.0

2017 · 1h 47min

Spain

Director: Oriol Paulo

A young businessman wakes up in a hotel room locked from the inside, beside the body of his lover. To prove his innocence and understand what really happened in that room, he turns to one of the city’s best lawyers for help.


Gosford Park

14. Gosford Park

Drama Mystery Thriller
7.2

2001 · 2h 17min

United States, Italy

Director: Robert Altman

A group of wealthy people and celebrities gathers to unwind at a country hunting estate. Suddenly, the owner of the estate, Sir William, is found dead—and everything suggests that someone among the guests is involved.


Changeling

13. Changeling

Crime Drama Mystery
7.7

2008 · 2h 21min

United States

Director: Clint Eastwood

After her young son goes missing, a young woman turns to the police for help. The boy is soon found, but despite the resemblance, the mother insists that he is not her child. Yet the authorities and the police pressure her to accept the boy as her son and put an end to the public outcry.


Mystic River

12. Mystic River

Thriller Crime Drama Mystery
7.9

2003 · 2h 18min

United States

Director: Clint Eastwood

Boston is shaken by a tragedy — the murder of a 19-year-old girl. A grief-stricken father suspects one of his longtime friends, and the further the investigation goes, the more old secrets and past traumas come to the surface.


Decision to Leave

11. Decision to Leave

Thriller Mystery Romance
7.3

2022 · 2h 19min

South Korea

Director: Park Chan-wook

An experienced detective investigates the death of a man who died in the mountains under suspicious circumstances. All the evidence points to an accident or suicide, but the widow’s strange behavior troubles him, so he begins to watch her.


The Silence of the Lambs

10. The Silence of the Lambs

Crime Thriller Drama
8.6

1991 · 1h 59min

United States

Director: Jonathan Demme

A country is shaken by a series of brutal kidnappings and murders of women. Trying to track down the maniac, FBI agent Clarice Starling turns for help to the imprisoned killer and brilliant psychiatrist Hannibal Lecter.


Memento

9. Memento

Mystery Thriller
8.4

2000 · 1h 53min

United States

Director: Christopher Nolan

A man who, after an injury, suffers from a rare form of amnesia — short-term memory loss — tries to find his wife's killer. During the investigation, he is forced to preserve new clues through photographs, notes, and tattoos.


The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

8. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Thriller Crime Mystery
7.8

2011 · 2h 38min

United States, Sweden

Director: David Fincher

Journalist Mikael and hacker Lisbeth investigate a 40-year-old case involving a missing woman whose body was never found. Her uncle is convinced a powerful local family is behind it.


L.A. Confidential

7. L.A. Confidential

Crime Mystery Thriller Drama
8.2

1997 · 2h 18min

United States

Director: Curtis Hanson

Three police officers, each of whom joined the force for their own reasons, become united by the investigation into a mass murder at a nightclub. As the investigation unfolds, it becomes clear that the case is about more than just gangland violence: the dirty secrets of the police itself and the dark side of Los Angeles begin to surface.


Prisoners

6. Prisoners

Drama Thriller Crime
8.2

2013 · 2h 33min

United States

Director: Denis Villeneuve

A six-year-old girl and her friend are abducted by unknown criminals. When the police investigation hits a dead end, one of the parents, in desperation, decides to get to the truth by his own methods.


Knives Out

5. Knives Out

Comedy Crime Mystery
7.9

2019 · 2h 11min

United States

Director: Rian Johnson

On the morning after a famous writer’s 85th birthday celebration, he is found dead in his own room. At first glance, it appears to be a suicide, but a mysterious stranger hires a renowned detective to conduct his own investigation.


Zodiac

4. Zodiac

Crime Mystery Thriller
7.7

2007 · 2h 37min

United States

Director: David Fincher

The film is based on the story of the real-life serial killer known as “Zodiac,” who terrorized the residents of San Francisco from 1968 to 1983. Zodiac liked communicating with the police through the press, sending encrypted messages.


Memories of Murder

3. Memories of Murder

Crime Drama Thriller
8.1

2003 · 2h 11min

South Korea

Director: Bong Joon Ho

A provincial town is shaken by a series of brutal murders of women. An experienced detective from Seoul arrives to hunt down the maniac and serial killer, determined to get the stalled case moving again.


Shutter Island

2. Shutter Island

Drama Thriller Mystery
8.2

2010 · 2h 18min

United States

Director: Martin Scorsese

On an isolated island that houses a psychiatric facility for the most dangerous patients, one of the inmates disappears without a trace. War veteran and U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels arrives on the island with his partner to investigate the mysterious disappearance.


Se7en

1. Se7en

Crime Mystery Thriller
8.6

1995 · 2h 7min

United States

Director: David Fincher

Veteran detective Somerset and his young partner investigate a series of chilling murders tied to punishment for the seven deadly sins. With each new victim, they realize the killer is always one step ahead.